1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to anti-theft devices, specifically to an anti-theft cage for securing a helmet on a motorcycle.
2. Prior Art
Motorcycles, because of their small size, have no built-in storage for helmets, but a helmet simply left siring on a bike parked in a public place will be quickly stolen. Therefore riders are constantly coping with the problem of what to do with their helmets when they leave their motorcycles.
Some riders who have full-face helmets, (the type with chin protection) lock them to a wheel with a U-lock looped around the visor opening. However, this requires the helmet to be placed on the ground, where it can get dirty or wet, or it can be accidentally damaged. Furthermore, open-face helmets cannot be locked in this way at all, because they have no hole through which the shackle of a lock can be looped. As a result, many riders have to endure the inconvenience of carrying their helmets around with them wherever they go.
Various locking devices have been designed for securing helmets to vehicles. U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,191 to Smith (1973) shows chains arranged to form a lockable cage for receiving a helmet therein. Although it provides security, the chain-cage cannot be adjusted to fit helmets of different sizes. When the helmet is removed therefrom, the cage collapses into a pile of jumbled chains, so that placing a helmet therein again will be a cumbersome procedure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,545 to Rogers, Jr. (1974) shows a helmet cage with two arched bars for engaging the sides of a helmet, and a lockable cross bar connecting the top of the arched bars for locking the helmet therein. The cage is attached to the side of a vehicle. This device also cannot be adjusted to fit helmets of different sizes, because the space between the arched bars is fixed by the non-adjustable cross bar. There is also insufficient space on the sides of most motorcycles for mounting this device.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,024,738 to Pi (1977) shows two loops for engaging the inside and outside of a helmet. The loops each include an elongated tap extending from its top. The taps are locked together and around any suitable bar-shaped member on a motorcycle for securing the helmet thereto. Just like the previous devices, this helmet lock is only designed to fit helmets of a single size. Furthermore, some motorcycles do not have suitable bar-shaped members on which this device can be locked.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,637 to Danforth (1977) shows a folding cage for receiving a helmet therein. Although the cage is lockable to the motorcycle, it is awkward to use, it can flop around and scratch the motorcycle, and it is not suitable for helmets of different sizes.